Noland Tunnel - Coshocton County, Ohio
N 40° 16.334 W 082° 02.043
17T E 412084 N 4458485
A tunnel on the former CA&C RR, built around 1887, near Tunnel Hill, Ohio. Abandoned in 1936 by the Pennsylvania RR.
Waymark Code: WME491
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 04/01/2012
Views: 37
This tunnel is found about a mile and a half northeast of the unincorporated community of Tunnel Hill (SR 60 and SR 541) within the Woodbury Wildlife Area in Coshocton County, Ohio.
On December 17, 1872, a supplemental certificate was filed to build the Dresden Branch of the Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad from the main line in Holmes County to Dresden in Coshocton County. The main line (originally referred to as a branch from Mt. Liberty to Columbus) was completed between Millersburg and Columbus and trains began running to Columbus on September 1, 1873. The Dresden branch was completed in 1888. The branch extended from Killbuck to Trinway with trackage rights to Dresden and Zanesville.
By 1887 the railroad from Dresden north through Bedford Township in Coshocton County was completed, including a 1,500-foot tunnel near Tunnel Hill. The tunnel was built of bricks and wooden beams which were 1492 feet long. Places were provided for safety to anyone walking through the tunnel who found an unexpected train approaching. It was situated a little north of the center of the township and connected the northern Simmons Run valley with the southern Wakatomica Creek valley. It opened new avenues for marketing farm products: cream to Orville creamery, livestock, lumber and coal. High school students were transported from as far south as Wakatomica to Warsaw until the early 1930s.
On June 7, 1924 The CA&C RR was consolidated with other railroads into the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad Company, approved by the ICC on December 12, 1924. As under the previous ownership, the road was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Passenger service on the Dresden branch was discontinued in 1931. The southern part of the branch from the tunnel to Trinway was approved for abandonment in 1936 after August 1935 flooding damaged the right-of-way. The tunnel near had already been closed for a couple of years due to unsafe conditions.
The south portal of the tunnel is at N40 16.334 W82 02.043 and is fairly easily accessible from County Road 58 off of State Route 60. The north portal is found at N40 16.561 W82 01.890; which requires a bit of a hike and a more challenging access.
Construction: Brick or concrete block
Condition: Collapsed
Rail Status: No
Current status: Abandoned & Visitable
Original Use: Freight
The "Other End": N 40° 16.561 W 082° 01.890
Tunnel Length: 1,500.00
Terrain: 
Date Built: 1887
Date Abandoned: 1936
Suggested Parking Area: Not Listed
Website: Not listed
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